"I'm loving it; I had no idea," said Vila, who is attached to the U.S. Embassy in Lisbon, Portugal.

"It's a gorgeous town. I love the people," said Vila, a cup of tea and a freshly baked orange pastry in front of her. "I was very impressed with everything. The people are very down to earth, very friendly and had time for us. Even the weather is perfect."

The Pickwick Society in Frankfort's historic downtown — named after the group in the book "Little Women" — was the last stop for Vila and approximately 40 other commercial service officers who took time out from the international travel conference at McCormick Place Saturday to try to get a sense of American life outside the big cities.

Commercial service officers are positioned in foreign countries to recommend U.S. tourism destinations, so introducing them to the area south of Chicago could translate into local tourism revenue, said Scott Bort, public relations manager Chicago Southland Visitors Bureau.

Saturday's tour, developed by the National Scenic Byway Foundation, Great River Creative and Tri-State Travel, introduced the visitors to Lincoln Highway murals in Mokena and Route 66 memorabilia at the Joliet museum. It also gave them the opportunity to stretch their legs on Kansas Street in Frankfort — with mayor-turned-tour guide Jim Holland elaborating on points of interest.

The Illinois Lincoln Highway Coalition and Chicago Southland Visitors Bureau established the schedule.

Bort said the trade show at McCormick Place attracts more than 1,200 international and domestic buyers from more than 70 countries who "conduct business negotiations that result in the generation of more than $4.7 billion in future travel to the United States."

Susan Hronik, program director for the Illinois Lincoln Highway Coalition, said the officers usually want to visit large cities on their first visit to the United States.

"The next time, they want to see what the real America is like, so that's what we had," she said. "Our hope is they will take that experience back and inspire others to find out what we have to offer in Illinois.

Hronik said she wanted to make sure the murals were highlighted, but, "Our main goal was to show what small town Americana has to offer."

Ending the trip at Cindy Vassel's Pickwick Tea Room gave the visitors "a chance to relax and have some tea," Hronik said.

Ranked by tearoom.com as the No. 1 tea room in Illinois, Pickwick occupies a former cigar store in the approximately 165-year-old Folkers Hotel building.